


Left My Shoes in the Street

by thehoundisdead



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - No Homophobia, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Protective Billy Hargrove, bc i dont play that game, this has a lot of fluff bc billy is a soft bitch
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-22
Updated: 2019-10-22
Packaged: 2020-12-28 06:14:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,205
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21131993
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thehoundisdead/pseuds/thehoundisdead
Summary: Steve's alright with the board because it's funny, really it's funny. Who cares if it hits a little too close to home?(spoiler alert - Billy cares)title from clementine by halsey





	Left My Shoes in the Street

The worst part about Scoops Ahoy is the uniform. Hands down. The shorts are itchy and smell and _ sure _ , Steve should probably wash them more often but they’re stupid work shorts for his stupid, shitty, job. The neckerchief or whatever it’s called is too long and drapes down too far whenever he has to lean forward to dig out ice cream for ungrateful children and the _ hat. _ That hat is a demon sent straight from hell to ruin Steve’s beautiful, voluminous, carefully styled hair. But on top of all of that, whoever designed the outfit seemed to have forgotten it’s for an _ ice cream _ shop. It’s _ cold. _

When Steve’s _ not _ dealing with snot-nosed customers (because _ seriously _ all of the kids who come in here are terrible. Except his kids. _ His _ kids have manners, thank you very much) (He’s not exactly sure when he started referring to them as his kids but at this point he’s just decided to roll with it) he’s usually dancing around behind the counter, trying to warm his legs and arms and pretending he’s not going to be on his feet for the next seven hours. He wiggles around, shuffling his feet rapid fire and pretends to serenade Robin, laughing at the second hand embarrassment on her face. 

The _ best _ thing about Scoops Ahoy is that it’s relatively close to the public pool, meaning Billy can drop by when he gets off to linger at Steve’s counter, skin still sun hot and golden. Billy always runs just a few degrees too hot but the combination of his sun warmed fingers tracing along Steve’s freezer cold arms always leaves him feeling a little like he’s on fire in the best way possible. He’s the most enticing thing Steve has ever seen; hair shiny blond and just the tiniest bit frizzed out from the summer air and sweat. He walks with an unparallelled confidence; the smirk on his face definitely leans towards arrogance as he looks Steve up and down before he even takes his first step inside. Which, okay, maybe that’s a little understandable at this point. Steve’s a sure thing. 

He hasn’t met Robin yet which is a relief, but Steve knows he’s on borrowed time. It’s not that he doesn’t want his boyfriend and his best friend to meet it’s just, well. Robin loves to embarrass Steve with stories of him being an idiot and Billy would _ love _ to hear about that. Steve doesn’t need to give Billy anymore ammo. Not that, not that Billy would use it _ against _him it’s just. 

Steve doesn’t need to give Billy any more reason to think he’s dumb. 

She’s here today when Billy waltzes in, all hips and swagger. Steve had been doing his usual _ “it’s fucking cold in here” _ dance while Robin leaned against the counter, rolling her eyes as he dramatically rubs his hands up and down his arms. When Billy sees Steve the tip of his tongue peeks out to lick at his lips, far too sexy for the middle of the day in an _ ice cream _ shop, and those eyelashes (the longest eyelashes Steve has _ ever _ seen) flutter at Steve in a way that makes Steve’s heart stutter in his chest. 

“Ahoy!” Steve calls from behind his register, waggling his eyebrows in his best attempt at a leer but probably only ending up with a dorky smile. 

“Jesus,” Robin mutters from behind him, blowing her hair out of her face as she grabs for the _ ‘you suck’ _ board, uncapping the marker before Billy even has a chance to respond, “I thought we were done with this.” 

“Well hey there,” Billy eyes Steve, lip curling up hard on one side, enough to make his cheek dimple. It’s sexy, obviously, but it’s also undeniably cute; the dimple makes his face seem just a little boyish. He nods at Steve’s dance when he reaches the counter, smiling in a way that’s less cocky and more genuine amusement. Steve wants to kiss that smile right off his face, to feel the way those soft lips curve underneath his own, “Cold?”

“Mmm, yeah,” Steve says, letting his fingers dance their way across the counter, flipping his palm up when it gets to Billy’s side. He looks up through his eyelashes, trying to mimic that look Billy gives him whenever he wants Steve to do something stupid. It almost always works, “You wanna warm me up?”

_ “God,” _ Robin moans behind him, starting to draw a tally on the _ ‘you suck’ _side of the board. 

“I can think of a few things we can do, pretty boy,” Billy says, giving Steve a sharp pinch to the wrist and then gently running his fingers across his open palm. It doesn’t surprise Steve in the least but he still pouts at Billy all the same. 

“What?” Robin stops mid tally, spinning around to point her marker accusingly at Billy, “That _ worked?” _

Billy looks up at her with a sort of caught out expression, like he’s just now realizing someone other than Steve is there. His fingers still their movement on his hand but he doesn’t pull his away, a fact which makes Steve want to dance happily in the middle of this stupid store because _ progress _. His eyes travel up and down Robin’s body but not the way he looks at Steve, no, he looks at Robin like he’s sizing her up, “Yeah?”

“How in the_ hell _-”

“Robin-” 

“-did _ that _-” 

“Robin, wait a second-”

“-work?” she demands, marker getting close enough to Billy’s face that Steve is a little concerned she’ll leave a mark. Billy must be too if the way his eye twitches is anything to go by, but Robin seems less than concerned, “I mean, seriously? Do you have, like, incredibly low standards or something? Like Mariana Trench level low?” 

Steve’s not sure what that means but he makes a mental note to force Dustin to explain it to him later. Who needs to go to the library when you have a gaggle of nerds at your disposal? Billy must know though because he bristles angrily, laying his hand flat against Steve’s and gripping tight like he’s preparing to drag Steve over the counter. Steve grips his hand back just as tight because they’ve been _ working _ on this and that’s usually all he needs, just to know Steve’s _ there _ , but when Steve sees his lip curl he knows he has to step in, “Yeah? And what _ exactly _-”

“Hey,” Steve interrupts, his empty hand coming up to cradle the side of Billy’s face briefly, long enough for his thumb to smooth out the angry twist of his lip before pulling away, “It’s okay.” 

“It’s _ not_, Harrington,” Billy says, eyes flicking over to Steve, a little wild and a little protective. 

“It is, Billy,” Steve reasserts, nodding back at Robin who’s eyes flick rapidly back and forth between them with a dawning understanding, “This is Robin.” 

“_This _ is Robin?” Billy asks at the same time Robin says, “_That’s _Billy?”

“I thought you said she was your friend?” Billy demands, still looking over at Robin distrustfully. 

“She is, she didn’t mean _ me_,” Steve laughs, “She meant the pick up line.”

“The pick up line?”

“It’s, yeah, she has,” Steve sighs, dropping his head so he doesn’t have to look at Billy, “She has a board.” 

“Of all the times he’s tried a terrible line,” Robin pipes up then, laughing a little to herself as she pulls out the board for Billy to see, “and utterly _ failed.” _

“No tallies for you rule?” Billy asks, raising one eyebrow at Robin and Steve can see the laughter in his eyes, “Impressive, King Steve.” 

“Listen, okay, it’s the hat!” Steve very nearly shouts, flailing his free hand around his head, loving the way Billy’s eyes glimmer as he watches, “How am I supposed to be flirty with this monstrosity in my head?”

“This again,” Robin laughs because _ maybe _ that’s the excuse he’s given her every time he’s flopped, but it’s true! The hat is awful!

“Not getting too flirty, I would think,” Billy says in a light tone, lips still curved up in a smile but his eyes are tight and his thumbnail presses against the skin of Steve’s hand, not enough to hurt, never enough to hurt, but enough for Steve to know he’s uncomfortable. Billy isn’t possessive and he very rarely gets genuinely jealous but he’s a worrier; he told Steve when they were laying in bed late one night that he was half waiting for this all to end because there’s no _ way _ he of all people gets to keep this many good things. Steve gets it, he does, because the only thing Steve is really king of is getting left behind. 

“Not since you,” he says in the most sincere tone he can manage, looking at Billy with all the tenderness he keeps stored up just for him. It works, Steve can tell by the rapid rise of pink dusting his cheeks and the way he pulls his hand back off the counter to shove in his pocket with a half embarrassed half smug huff. 

“You guys are gross,” Robin says, looking between them with squinted eyes, “And I’m glad I haven’t had to suffer through Steve’s lines _ working _ until now.” 

“Yeah, yeah, love is disgusting, why don’t you go tell Heather about it,” Steve waves away, grinning wide at the way Billy’s blush deepens when he mentions love, “Now what can I get you? Anything you want.” 

“Dangerous question to ask,” Billy says suggestively, trying to win back some of his bravado as he looks down at the ice cream, “Two cones, one vanilla, the other rocky road.” 

“You hate rocky road,” Steve says even as he gets to work digging it out of the container and handing it over. 

“Max is in the car,” Billy shrugs. 

“Ah, the age old leaving children in hot cars,” Steve laughs, getting to work on the second cone, “Grade A parenting, Hargrove.” 

“The windows are rolled down,” Billy rolls his eyes, still smiling at Steve anyways, “Besides, _ she _ wanted to stay in the car because apparently ‘the way I look at you’ makes her want to barf. Whatever that means.” 

And _ that _ Steve can understand because as much as Billy pretends to be a feelingless badass, sometimes he looks at Steve with so much tenderness, big eyes wide and shiny, that Steve himself could cry. It’s probably not as fun to be his sixteen year old sister. Steve doesn’t point that out though, instead he shoots Billy his best _ what are you talking about? _ look and hands over the ice cream saying, “Huh. Kids are weird.”

“Yeah,” Billy scoffs, letting his fingers linger a little too long on Steve when he grabs the ice cream and says, “See you tonight?” 

“Movie night with the kids, remember?” Steve says, laughing at the enormous groan Billy let’s out, “It’s not that bad.”

“They always pick out the worst movies and Henderson always, _ always_, tries to sit between us,” Billy groans again as he backs away from the counter.

“I think you’ll survive,” Steve says, voice overly sweet in a way he knows Billy hates, “I get off at six!”

“Oh, pretty boy, if the night goes as planned you’ll get off more than once,” and with that Billy is leaving, striding out the door with a leisurely confidence Steve’s never seen anyone else able to pull off. 

“I know why the line worked,” Robin pipes up behind him, disappointedly drawing a single tally under _ you rule. _

“Because he’s my boyfriend?”

“No,” she shakes her head firmly, looking up at him with serious eyes, “It’s because he’s just as bad as you.” 

~*-*~

When Steve gets home after his shift he can already hear the nonsense happening before he’s even unlocked the door. Which is maybe, probably, mostly his fault; he probably didn’t need to give Billy and Dustin _ and _ Will a key to his apartment, but what can he say? He has favorites and he worries about them; he just wants to make sure they always have somewhere to go. 

Maybe he’s a little soft. 

Opening the door reveals six teens sprawled out across his two tiny couches and Billy, whose head is thrown back as he laughs loud and free at whatever Dustin’s saying. Dustin’s laughing too, his cheeks crested with deep dimples and his hand reaching out to Billy without a second thought. It makes Steve feel like the Grinch at the end of the movie when his heart just keeps growing and growing, physically bursting out of his chest with the amount of love he feels. 

He steps up behind the couch where Dustin and Billy are sitting, smiling when Billy’s hand immediately reaches out for him, grabbing onto Steve’s forearm and letting his nails dig in just a little, “What are you little shits laughing about?” 

“Are you an aristocat?” Dustin asks in lieu of an answer, only half able to keep his laughter contained but Steve knows where this is going and he can feel the blood drain from his face. One look at Billy’s eyes, dancing with amusement and the beautiful <strike>_vicious_</strike> curl of his lips shows that Billy knows too, “Because I’d like to make you my Queen.” 

They laugh again and it’s stupid because Steve _ knows _Dustin loves him; at this point they’re basically brothers. Steve spent last Christmas at the Hendersons. And Billy is...well Billy is Billy. But it still makes something dark and thick coil in the pit of his stomach. He tries for an annoyed laugh, though the sound tastes just vaguely wrong, like milk that hasn’t hit it’s expiration date yet but it’s getting there, “Haha, laugh it up, you nerds.” 

“Aristocats, Steve!” Dustin yells, throwing his hands in the air, causing Billy to laugh again and Steve can feel his cheeks heating up but he won’t acknowledge it, “You said aristo_cats _.” 

“What did Robin say?” Billy asks, shiny eyes flicking back and forth between Steve and Dustin, fingers tightening on Steve’s arm when he makes to pull away. 

“She didn’t say anything,” Steve mutters, glancing up at the rest of the kids who thankfully aren’t paying attention. He thinks Will might be though; he’s talking to Mike but his eyes keep flickering up to look at Steve. 

“Yeah, she just gave him the most disappointed look I’ve ever seen,” Dustin explains, eyes crinkling at the side, “And she gave him _ two _ tallies for that one.” 

“I hate that fucking board,” Steve grumbles, finally snatching his arm out of Billy’s grasp and moving to step around the couch. It’s then, probably, that Billy notices something is wrong. His big eyes get all squinty the way they always do when he’s worried. He sits forward quick and thrusts his hand out to grab Steve’s. 

“Hey,” he says, pulling Steve closer to him. Steve comes easily enough, stumbling into Billy’s space, only steadied by a hand on his hip, “Come sit with me.”

“I want to change,” Steve manfully doesn’t whine. Billy’s eyes and hands stay on him though, washing over him and rubbing small, rough circles into the fabric of his uniform. 

“Just for a second,” Billy says in a strong voice but it’s not the way he used to talk to Steve, not demanding. If Steve really didn’t want to sit, he’d let him go. 

“Fine,” Steve concedes, dropping into the too small space between Billy and Dustin so that he sits half on top of Billy. It’s okay though because Billy just pulls him tighter into his chest, fingers running firm lines up and down Steve’s sternum. Billy holds him tight; he always holds Steve tight like he’s afraid if he doesn’t, Steve might slip right out of his embrace. It works for them though because sometimes Steve feels like he might fall apart from the inside out and Billy’s arms stitch him back together. Dustin gags and shouts _ “Hey Lucas!” _and then he’s gone, vaulting himself off the couch and onto the floor. 

“You good, Harrington?” Billy asks quietly, breath ghosting against the shell of Steve’s ear. It sends a shiver through Steve but Billy just holds on tighter. 

“I’m fine,” Steve says, turning his face in towards Billy so he can run his nose along Billy’s jaw, tickled by the stubble that grows there. 

“You sure?” 

“Yeah,” Steve mumbles, pressing a soft kiss underneath the hinge of his jaw. And it’s true, a litte. Billy has stupidly strong arms because he spends way too much time lifting weights and looking at himself in the mirror and the weight of them on Steve’s shoulders, his waist, thrown over his stomach in the middle of the night makes him feel safe. Billy always makes him feel safe. 

“Hey,” Max yells from her spot on the floor, eyebrows raised in disgust from where she’s watching them, “Can you guys stop being nasty for, like, five seconds so we can start the movie?” 

“Maxine,” Billy warns but Max hasn’t been afraid of him in years; she rolls her eyes and gestures crudely at them and Steve can feel Billy laugh underneath him even though he’s still pretending to glare. 

“Alright, alright,” Steve says, clapping Billy’s knee as he stands up, pretending the way Billy’s hands drag down his body so they can remain touching until the last possible second doesn’t make him smile dumbly, “Let me go change and then we can start it. What are we watching anyway?” 

“Ghostbusters,” Lucas says, rolling his eyes. Steve stifles a laugh while he walks away, watching Billy swivel around to face Dustin. 

“Are you fucking serious, Henderson?” he demands, pointing a finger in Dustin’s face who, to his credit, doesn’t even flinch, _ “Again?” _

“How do you know it was me?” Steve can hear Dustin shriek as he shuts his bedroom door. 

“Who _ else _ would pick this movie! It’s been you every _ goddamn _time!” Billy shouts in a fit of rage that’s not nearly as lethal as it used to be. Steve’s not worried; he shakes his head and finds himself smiling as he digs through his drawers for some sweatpants. 

“That doesn’t mean it was me _ this _ time!” 

“Max, whose turn was it to pick the movie?” Billy demands as Steve slips on a soft t-shirt that may or may not belong to him. It’s for a band Steve doesn’t listen to (unless he’s making out with Billy in the back seat of his Camaro) and it’s just a little too loose around the shoulders. Steve loves it. 

“...”

“Max.”

“It was Dustin’s.” 

_ “Henderson!” _There’s a shout of commotion and a loud thump and if Steve had to guess he’d say Dustin just got hit with a pillow. He puts on his best mom face and grabs the handle, ready to tell them all to play nice or take it outside but when the door opens he finds Will standing there shuffling his feet. 

“Will?” he asks, unconsciously leaning forward just a bit to level out their height, “You okay buddy?” 

Will shuffles around a bit more, eyes snapping back and forth between the floor and Steve. Steve’s about to ask again if something is wrong when Will launches himself at Steve, wrapping his arms around Steve’s middle and pressing his face against Steve’s chest. It knocks the wind out of Steve and he stumbles backward a few steps, hands resting on Will’s shoulders to try and steady them both, “Whoa.” 

“Dustin’s dumb sometimes,” Will says into the fabric of Steve’s shirt, “But he doesn’t mean it. He just doesn’t get it. Don’t be sad.”

Steve’s at a loss for words, caught somewhere between being embarrassed at how easily Will seems to have read him and utterly touched. _ This _ is why his kids are better than everyone else’s. He snakes his arms around Will’s shoulders slowly, patting his back in little awkward claps, “I know, kid. It’s okay.” 

Will squeezes against Steve for a second longer before letting go, stepping back to look Steve up and down. He nods to himself and says, “Come on. We’re gonna miss the movie.” 

“As if we haven’t already seen it a hundred times,” Steve says as he trails behind Will, turning lights off as he goes. Maybe he says it too loud or maybe Billy has a weird hyperactive spideysense when it comes to Steve but either way he spins around fast to face Steve. 

“That’s exactly what I’m saying, Harrington!” he shouts, throwing his hands in the air and turning to the kids, “Alright, new rule: no more repeats.” 

That’s met with a jumbled response; Max just shrugs which is fair; she picks a new movie every turn, Lucas and Mike both let out variations of _ thank God _ while El glares at Billy and Dustin immediately launches into an argument. Will is suspiciously quiet. 

“Will? What do you think?” Steve asks as Will teeters awkwardly in the middle of the room. 

“Well...” he says, looking at the faces of each of his friends and then back up at Steve, “I kind of like rewatching movies.” 

“Sorry, babe,” Steve laughs at Billy’s muttered _ fuck _ as he drops down onto him, sitting sideways on his lap and letting his arm hang around Billy’s shoulders. Billy snakes an arm around his waist, hand traveling down to grip the back of Steve’s thigh, “What Will says, goes.” 

“You’ve betrayed me for the last time, Byers,” Billy warns, pointing a finger at Will, lip twitching in the corner when Will just giggles and drops down next to Mike. They all settle down after that, wrapped in blankets and shoving handfuls of snacks in their mouths as the movie starts. Steve can feel Billy’s thumb moving gently back and forth on his thigh even as Billy leans forward to bite hard at Steve’s earlobe. 

“Hey, princess,” he whispers, tongue poking out to run along the shell of Steve’s ear which is disgusting and wholly unsurprising; Billy is sixty percent tongue, “You know I, I...” 

“I know, Billy,” Steve says because he _ does _ and he understands that sometimes Billy still has a hard time saying it out loud but that doesn’t matter; he’s always there for Steve, he’s always _ there _. And that’s why Steve loves him back, “I love you t-”

“Can you guys get a room already?” Max snaps from her spot on the floor but if Steve’s not mistaken he can see a tiny smile on her face and he knows what she’s thinking because he thinks it all the time too. About how much everything has changed, about how they’re all _ better _ now. 

“Excuse me, this is _ my _ apartment-” 

~*-*~

“Why were you sad earlier?” Billy asks later that night when they’re tucked into Steve’s bed, wrapped around each other comfortably. He drags a calloused thumb across Steve’s cheekbone over and over again, slowly, only stopping to brush away the hair that falls on his forehead. 

“I wasn’t-”

“Harrington,” Billy whispers, eyes shiny in the faint moonlight that seeps in through the blinds on Steve’s window, “I can’t fix it if you don’t tell me.” 

“Not everything can be _ fixed, _and it doesn’t matter, it’s really not a big deal-”

“_I _ made you sad, Steve,” Billy says, eyebrows furrowing together, “I, you have to, _ fuck _ Steve, if I do something you have to tell me, okay? I don’t want, I don’t _ ever _ want to make you sad.”

“It’s-” _ nothing_, he considers saying again but he knows Billy knows him better than that. So he sighs, reaches one hand out to rest on the exposed skin of Billy’s hip and says, “It’s the board.”

“The board? What board?” 

“_The board_, the tally board, the you-suck board, the nobody-wants-Steve board, the-”

“Hey, hey,” Billy shushes, leaning in to let his lips ghost against Steve’s cheeks, his nose, his lips, “What are you talking about? I thought that was a joke between you and your friends.”

“It _ was_, at first. At first it was funny,” Steve says, looking at Billy’s bare chest, his freckled shoulders, anywhere but his eyes, “But then it just kept going and the numbers kept rising and I _ get _ it, okay? I’m dumb and I say dumb things and that’s why no one wants to stick around for long and-”

“Harrington,” Billy says in a firm voice, eyes hard, “_None _ of that is true. You’re one of the smartest people I know.”

“Don’t patronize me,” Steve snaps, pulling away, hiding deep inside himself except Billy doesn’t let him. He holds him close and presses a rough kiss to Steve’s lips. 

“I wouldn’t.” 

“You _ are_,” Steve says, blunt fingertips digging into Billy’s skin, “I _ know _ I’m dumb, alright? It’s why I didn’t get into any schools, why my dad can’t even _ look _at me-”

“Your parents actions aren’t a reflection of you, remember?” Billy asks, repeating the line Steve whispers into his hair whenever something with Neil comes up. _ You’re good, Billy, you’re so good, _ he’ll whispers, holding Billy tight against his chest, _ It’s not your fault, you didn’t do _ anything _ Billy, it’s not your fault. _ It feels strange to have them tossed back at him because he never considered his dad to be in the same category as Billy’s. He didn’t _ hit _ Steve he was just, never there, never liked Steve, “Or did you not mean that?” 

“Of course I meant it, Billy-”

“So, you’re going to have to learn to believe it when it’s about you Steve,” Billy whispers, eyes never leaving Steve’s face, “You’re dad is an asshole but that has nothing to do with how smart you are. He has nothing to do with how brave you are or strong or how willing you are to protect everyone around you. 

“Do you think an idiot could get those kids out of danger, over and over again?” Billy asks, resuming his thumb’s path across Steve’s face, “Do you think any old dumbass would know how to deescalate a situation, when to fight back, when to turn around and run and somehow protect _ everyone _ all the while?

“You’re not dumb, Steve,” Billy whispers and then drops his eyes to laugh to himself, “And as for _ wanting _you, God, I wish you knew how much I’ve wanted you since the day I moved to this shithole town.” 

“You didn’t even like me then, Billy,” Steve whines, pushing on Billy’s hip and pretending his heart isn’t racing out of his chest. 

“Like you? Baby, I couldn’t take my eyes _ off _you,” Billy laughs, leaning forward to bite at Steve’s neck, soothing the spot with his tongue afterwards, “You never noticed? I was an asshole but I practically followed you around like a fucking puppy.”

“I thought you just really, really hated me.”

“I hated that I couldn’t have you,” Billy presses his lips to Steve’s collarbone, “I hated that you were perfect, and pretty, and would never be interested in me. And I just had a lot of pent up rage. Sorry. 

“Steve,” Billy breathes against his skin, “I know people have walked out on you before, I _ know _ you feel abandoned but you don’t have to worry about that with me. 

“I want you the second I wake up in the morning with your fucking bed hair stuck in my mouth, I want you when you sing the words to my favorite songs wrong, I want you when you put your feet on my dashboard and get it _ all _ dirty. I want you, Steve,” he says, teeth tugging at the skin of Steve’s left pec, “I want you, I _ want _you.” 

Billy rolls them over, placing one knee firmly on either side of Steve’s hips to bracket him in, hands holding Steve’s wrists tightly against the bed, face hovering over Steve’s close enough that his lips paint a path across his face, “I want you everyday because I fucking love you, okay? That fucking board means nothing because your terrible pick up lines are _ always _ going to work on me. I’m going to haunt your _ fucking _door until you tell me to leave, pretty boy.”

“You don’t have to haunt my door,” Steve says after a long period of silence. His breath is too heavy and his eyes feel too wet and he _ loves _ Billy, Jesus, he loves him, “My bed is always available.”

“I know it is, princess,” Billy smirks and leans in to press a searing kiss to Steve’s lips, shifting his hips so one knee presses in between Steve’s legs, teeth snagging on Steve’s bottom lip just to hear him moan, “And I plan to be here.” 

~*-*~

The next day finds Steve dancing energetically behind the counter at Scoops Ahoy and arguing with Robin. She leans against the counter next to him, arms folded angrily, eyes rolling everytime Steve says something new. 

“The robot guy is _ not _ gay,” Steve says, doing an obnoxiously bad running man dance.

_ “Android,” _Robin snaps, throwing her hands in the air, “And yes he is.”

“He doesn’t even feel feelings,” Steve laughs when Robin throws a punch against his shoulder. 

“Have we been watching the same show? Of course he feels feelings,” she says, “Data is an android, not a monster.” 

But Steve isn’t listening anymore. Because he can see Billy walking towards them, hips swaggering and no shirt underneath his leather jacket because he has the _ worst _ fashion sense (which – does it count as fashion if he just wears nothing?). His tongue flicks out when he catches Steve’s eye, licking over pearly white teeth and the curve of his smirk. 

“Again?” Robin asks, pulling out her board with a tired sigh as Billy saunters into shop. 

“Hello, hello, hello,” Steve calls while Robin rolls her eyes behind him, “What can I help you with today?” 

But Billy isn’t listening to him and he doesn’t stop at the customer's side of the counter. Instead, he stomps his way behind the counter, stepping quickly into Steve’s space long enough to plant a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth and then turns to face Robin, who looks at him with a mixture of shock and revulsion. 

“I’ll take that,” Billy says, pulling the board out of Robin’s hands casually, like this is something he just _ does _ in his free time. He walks to the other side of the counter, ignoring Steve’s wide eyes and open mouth and just, snaps the board clean in half. He waves the pieces at Steve and Robin, smiling wickedly the whole time, eyes crazed in a way that makes Steve want to grab him by the chin and kiss him senseless. He walks backwards towards the exit and drops the fractured pieces of the board in the trash when he hits the door calling, “See you later, pretty boy.” 

“What the _ hell _ was that about?” Robin asks as they both watch him walk away. She still has the uncapped marker in her hand, prepared to draw a tally on a board that’s no longer functional. 

“Love,” Steve smiles dopily at the door even though Billy is long out of sight, “It was about love.”

“Steve, that is the _ cheesiest _ thing I’ve ever heard, I swear to God-” 

  


**Author's Note:**

> [talk to me on tumblr!](https://dumbprettysteve.tumblr.com)


End file.
